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peared before a competent military board, and if on examination were found to possess the requisite military knowledge, and by a suitable medical board they were found to possess the necessary physical strength for the performance of the duties assigned them, they were mustered into the service.

Sir, those of this Veteran Reserve corps who now remain in service-many of them have been mustered out-are No. 1 men. They have been tested on the field of battle, and not found wanting. They are men of courage and experience; and I say it is a.slander upon a noble organization to say that these men cannot do half the service that can be rendered by men who have never seen service in the field. I say that a man with a cork leg and with only one arm, if he has ordinary ability in other respects, is as capable of doing duty at a fort or a military rendezvous in time of peace as any man.

I hold, sir, that this nation has some interest in caring for the men who constitute this Veteran Reserve corps. We have no right to muster them summarily out of the service, saying to them, "We are willing to give you a pension of $100 or $200 a year, and with this, you can, if you exercise ordinary prudence and economy, make your living.'

Mr. CONKLING. Will the gentleman permit me to ask him a question?

Mr. INGERSOLL. Yes, sir.

Mr. CONKLING. The gentleman has stated that, when this corps was organized, there was an understanding, in some way, or on the part of somebody, that it was to be a permanent organization. Will the gentleman be kind enough to state to the House on what he relies on making that assertion?

Mr. INGERSOLL. Yes, sir; if it is a matter of any importance, I will do so. Istate from my recollection that, at the time of the organization of this corps, it was so understood. I remember that I spoke with reference to it myself. I recollect that an officer of my own State consulted me with reference to the question whether he had better give up the business by which he could make a livelihood at home for the purpose of going into the Veteran Reserve corps. I remember that I told him that I supposed it would be a permanent organization, and that therefore it would be advisable for him to go into it as a lieutenant, the pay of which position would be sufficient, under ordinary circumstances to support him and his family.

erous people will recognize their services and provide for and maintain them in their military pride and glory as a part of the United States Army.

I deny that the Veteran Reserve corps are inadequate to discharge the duties of any ordinary post or garrison of any branch of the service while the country is at peace. I beg the country and this House not to disregard the claims-yes, sir, the claims of these noble soldiers. Let us maintain this organization as an independent organization of the Army, whether it consist of five or ten regiments. I am not satisfied we need fifty thousand or sixty thousand men in a time of peace to maintain the dignity of this country. When I am convinced that we do I shall vote for such number of men, but not until I am. I shall want to hear further from the Committee on Military Affairs or those who have carefully investigated the subject. But whether the Army shall consist of twenty-five thousand men or fifty thousand men, I insist that the Veteran Reserve corps, men who have nobly won renown upon the field of battle, shall have their place in the Army and shall not be overslaughed by any opposition from any quarter, whether it be under the guise of pretended economy or by the regular Army or by any other interest whatever.

Mr. ELDRIDGE. As it is a glorious thing to belong to the Army, I ask why it is the gentleman was not heard of in the war?

Mr. INGERSOLL. Itell you I was required at home to take care of just such contemptible "copperheads" as that gentleman. [Laughter.] My services were required at home. If all the patriotic and honest men like myself had gone to the front such "copperheads" as you would have taken the country, and it would have gone to eternal ruin. [Applause on the floor and in the galleries.]

Mr. ELDRIDGE. I desire to know from the gentleman why he has not taken care of the copperheads?

Mr. INGERSOLL. I say that we have. [Renewed applause.]

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Applause in the galleries and upon the floor is out of order. Mr. INGERSOLL. I say that we have taken good care of the copperheads."

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Mr. ROGERS. I rise to a point of order. Is it in order, in public debate to go to the country, for one member to abuse his fellowmember of the house by calling him a contemptible copperhead?

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair thinks it is not in order.

Mr. ELDRIDGE. I wish the decision had been that it was in order, as he has not more contempt for me than I have for him.

It was my understanding, and I think it was the general understanding, that that corps should be a permanent organization. I know that there are now in that corps men who abandoned their ordinary pursuits and professions to enter this corps, believing in good faith that they could by the services which they would render compensate the Government for its outlay in maintaining that organization. Does any gentleman believe that those men would have entered that corps if they had understood || that they were to remain only a year or eigh-embarrassed the Union party, which has enteen months, and were then to be turned off that their places might be filled by able-bodied men?

Mr. CONKLING. Does the gentleman put that question for the purpose of having it answered?

Mr. INGERSOLL. No, sir; I do not care to be interupted just now.

Mr. CONKLING. If the gentleman desires an answer, I would be glad to give it.

Mr. INGERSOLL. But I can answer for myself. It is a plain and real answer. They did not dream of such a thing. They supposed they were part of the Army of the United States, and that we would take a pride in them for the services they had rendered; that their|| organization should have the dignity and something of the éclat of the Old Guard."

Yes, Mr. Speaker, the Veteran Reserve corps can be pointed to with pride and glory by American citizens, for they have proved the defenders of the Republic against a wicked, inhuman, and atrocious rebellion. And a gen

Mr. INGERSOLL. I do not care about anything he says. It matters nothing to me. [Laughter.] I have been used to hearing their slang and their slanders for several years. wish to say I did not personally call him contemptible, but his political party which has

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couraged the rebellion, which has done all it could to defeat the Government in its great struggle with the rebellion. I do call them contemptible.

Mr. ROGERS. Is that in order?

Mr. INGERSOLL. I think it is in order. Mr. ROGERS. On what ground?

Mr. INGERSOLL. Because it is the truth. [Laughter.]

Mr. ROGERS. Is it in order for a member to stand here and abuse another party? If it is, I am willing to have this out. [Cries of "Order!"] If there are traitors anywhere they are in the other party. [Continued cries of "Order!"] They are the disunionists today, and we are the only real Union men in the country.

Mr. ELDRIDGE. What is the ruling of the Chair?

The SPEAKER pro tempore. That the gentleman from Wisconsin is out of order. Mr. ELDRIDGE. Why?

The SPEAKER pro tempore. For inter

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Mr. INGERSOLL. Mr. Speaker, I believe I have the floor. [Laughter.] I want it understood that I place upon whatever the gentleman from Wisconsin has said no sort of importance

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair calls the gentleman to order.

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Mr. ELDRIDGE. I rise to a question of order. The Chair has decided that the gentleman from Illinois was out of order.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair decided that his application to the gentleman from Wisconsin was out of order.

Mr. ELDRIDGE. I insist upon the enforce. ment of the rule, that being decided to be out of order, the gentleman from Illinois must take his seat.

Mr. INGERSOLL. I rise to a point of order. The Chair has decided a moment ago that

Mr. ROGERS. One point at a time.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Illinois [Mr. INGERSOLL] will suspend. The gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. ELDRIDGE] raises the point of order that the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. INGERSOLL] was held by the Chair to have been out of order. That was so.

Mr. INGERSOLL. I do not doubt that. [Laughter.]

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The remark of the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. INGERSOLL] as applied to the gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. ELDRIDGE] was out of order.

Mr. ELDRIDGE. The question of order goes further.

Mr. INGERSOLL. I rise to a point of order. Mr. ELDRIDGE. I insist that the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. INGERSOLL] shall take his seat until the House permits him to pro

ceed.

Mr. INGERSOLL. My time has not expired yet, I believe.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman's time has not yet expired. The gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. ELDRIDGE] insists that the rule shall be enforced, that the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. INGERSOLL] having been declared out of order shall take his seat until he is permitted to proceed.

Mr. BLAINE. I move that he be permitted to proceed in order.

Mr. ELDRIDGE. I insist that he has not yet taken his seat.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentle man from Illinois [Mr. INGERSOLL] will be seated. [Laughter.]

The motion that the gentleman be allowed to proceed in order was agreed to.

Mr. INGERSOLL. Suppose Jeff. Davis should call me a traitor, should I pay any attention to it?

Mr. ROGERS. I rise to a point of order. The gentleman is not speaking to the question before the House. Jeff, Davis has nothing to do with it. [Laughter.]

Mr. INGERSOLL. He may have, from present indications. If this copperhead party ever gets into power Jeff. may be one of their leaders.

Mr. ROGERS. I insist that the gentleman should confine himself to the question before the House or take his seat. He is not talking upon the question at all.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair sustains the point of order.

Mr. ELDRIDGE. I raise another question of order. The gentleman from Illinois [Mr. INGERSOLL] has no right to charge upon this side of the House that they are followers of Jeff. Davis, or that he is their leader. It is an

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abuse of the privileges of this House. I ask the Chair to decide that question.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair has decided the point of order raised by the gentleman from New Jersey, that the gentleman was not in order in the line of his remarks.

Mr. ELDRIDGE. Then I insist that the rule shall be enforced, and he shall sit down. The Chair The SPEAKER pro tempore. has decided that he was not in order in the remarks he was proceeding to make. The gentleman can proceed in order.

Mr. ELDRIDGE. I insist that he cannot go on, when the Chair has decided him out of order, until the House again allows him to proceed.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman was not in order, was not speaking to the amendment. If he shall speak to the amendment before the House he is in order.

smith, and others, dealers in leaf tobacco and manufacturers of cigars in the city of Detroit, praying for relief touching the tariff on imported cigars.

By Mr. CONKLING: The petition of Milton H. Thompson, and others, of Utica, New York, praying the passage of laws regulating inter-State insurances. Also, the petition of several flax mills, praying that a duty of at least fifty per cent. ad valorem may be laid on coarse flax yarns, coarse linens, hemp, and jute goods, and no duty upon foreign flax for fine fabrics.

By Mr. DAVIS: The petition of S. C. Gardner, Sylvester Gardner, and 34 others, citizens of Onondaga county, New York, praying increased protection on American wool.

Also, the petition of Drs. John G. Shipman, Theodore Bradford, and 18 others, practicing physicians of Syracuse, New York, asking for a change in the internal duty affecting medicines.

By Mr. ECKLEY: The petition of 175 wool-growers of Island Creek township, Jefferson county, Ohio, asking an additional duty on wool.

By Mr. FINCK: The petition of Thomas P. Skinner, and others, citizens of Perry county, Ohio, praying for an increase of duty on all foreign wool imported into the United States.

By Mr. HARDING, of Illinois: The memorial of citizens of Rock Island county, Illinois, protesting against the permitting of disloyal men to hold office, and against the repeal or modification of the "test" oaths.

Mr. ELDRIDGE. Then my point is not allowed. I desire now to make another question of order of some importance. He has applied to this side of the House the epithet Illinois, for a post route, &c. that they are followers of Jeff. Davis. I insist that that is not a proper remark to make against members of Congress.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman raises another point of order, that the application of the remark to the side of the House to which the gentleman belongs, that they are followers of Jefferson Davis, is not in order. The Chair cannot decide whether that is in order or not. [Laughter.]

Mr. ROGERS. I rise to a point of order: that we will withdraw all objection and allow the gentlemen on the other side to proceed if they will allow us to answer.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Illinois (Mr. INGERSOLL] has the floor.

Mr. NIBLACK. I insist on knowing what the amendment under consideration is.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the amendment.

The Clerk read the amendment, namely, to strike out the following from section four: Often regiments, to be raised and officered as hereafter provided for, to be called the Veteran Reserve

corps.

Mr. McKEE. I ask the gentleman to yield

to me a moment.

Mr. INGERSOLL. I will do so.

Mr. McKEE. I only wish to make a single statement. So far as this side of the House is concerned there is a part of us at least who do not take any exception whatever to being called followers of Jeff. Davis, because we have never been considered as being in that line. A number of us at least have a record by which the country at large will not put us in that category. As to the gentlemen who are a little further over, that seem to have fears of such charges, there may be some ground for those fears. [Laughter.]

Mr. INGERSOLL. I was showing the necessity of preserving the Veteran Reserve corps, and in order to do that I was showing that from present proceedings and present indications the rebel power is liable to be restored in this country, with Jeff. Davis at its head.

Mr. ROSS. I would inquire of my colleague if he has heard of the result of the municipal election at Peoria, Illinois.

Mr. INGERSOLL. Yes, sir. The copperheads have a majority there, I am sorry to say. [Laughter.] There are some who have been pardoned and restored to political power who are as deeply dyed in crime as Jeff. Davis, his Compeers, and coconspirators, and I want to protect the country against such men. [Here the hammer fell.]

Mr. WARD. I move that the House adjourn. The motion was agreed to; and accordingly (at four o'clock and twenty minutes p. m.) the House adjourned.

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Also, the petition of citizens of Mercer county, Also, the petition of Joanna Winans, for a pension. By Mr. HUBBELL, of New York: The petition of brewers of the United States, praying for reduction of duty on barley imported from Canada.

By Mr. HULBURD: The petition of sundry inhabitants of St. Lawrence county, New York, asking a general insurance law.

Also, the petition of sundry other citizens of St. Lawrence county, New York, praying reduction of imports on certain articles that are used in compounding medicines, &c.

By Mr. INGERSOLL: The petition of 100 citizens of Putnam county, Illinois, asking for an increase of duty on imported wool.

By Mr, KELSO: The petition of citizens of Barton county, Missouri, for the relief of William B. Smedley, late postmaster at Lamar, Missouri.

By Mr. KETCHAM: The concurrent resolutions of the Legislature of the State of New York, in regard to the adjudicated claims of the militia of that State who served in the war of 1812.

By Mr. LAWRENCE, of Pennsylvania: Several petitions from citizens of Lawrence and Washington counties, Pennsylvania, for an increase of duties on foreign wools.

By Mr. LONGYEAR: The remonstrance of Alexander Monroe, and 1,262 others, citizens of Ingham county, Michigan, against an extension of the Amboy, Lansing, and Traverse Bay railroad land grant to the company of that name.

Also, the petition of A. B. Gibson, and 23 others, citizens of Jackson, Michigan, asking for the establishment of a Bureau of Insurance.

By Mr. MOULTON: The petition of Mrs. Imogene Buckingham, praying for the allowance of a pension or an annuity.

By Mr. NIBLACK: The petition of Owen Fuller and Ulysses E. Fisher, contractors on mair route No. 10648, praying relief from the terms of their contract.

Also, the claims of John J. McGrew and R. H. Hoffman, for property destroyed at Lexington, Missouri, by order of the military authorities of the United States.

By Mr. PAINE: The petition of Thomas Kershaw, and 30 others, citizens of Milwaukee, for the enactment of a law regulating insurance in the United States.

Also, the petition of Jacob Olp, and 33 others, citizens of Geneva, Wisconsin, for increase of duty on foreign wools.

Also, the petition of R. H. Bristol, and 90 others, citizens of Delavan, Walworth county, Wisconsin, for increased tariff on foreign wools.

Also, the petition of Alonzo Potter, and 51 others, citizens of Lyons, Walworth county, Wisconsin, for increase of tar ff on foreign wools.

By Mr. RANDALL, of Kentucky: The petition of Leonard Casey, of Whitley county, Kentucky, for pension for disability received in the service of the Government.

Also, the petition of citizens of Somerset, Kentucky, for a post route from that town to Knoxville, East Tennessee.

Also, the petition of citizens of Owsley county, Kentucky, for a post route from Beatyville to Thompsonville, in said county.

By Mr. RICE, of Massachusetts: The petition of John Ridgway, of Boston, that the Secretary of the Navy may be authorized to make trial of his "vertical revolving battery."

By Mr. TROWBRIDGE: The petition of L. Woodward, and 22 others, citizens of Avon, Michigan, asking for an increased duty on foreign wool.

Also, the petition of citizens of Michigan, asking for the passage of just and equitable laws to regulate inter-State insurances of all kinds.

By Mr. UPSON: The petition of Walton J. Barnes, and 81 others, citizens of Quincy, Branch county, Michigan, praying Congress for an increase of duties on foreign wools.

Also, the petition of Z. G. Swan, and 66 others, citizens of the same place, for the same purpose.

Also, the petition of David Stephenson, and 27 others, citizens of Bethel, in the same county and State, for the same purpose.

Also, the petition of Asahel Brown, and 120 others, eitizens of Algansee, in the same county and State, for the same purpose.

Also, the petition of John McNett, and 88 others,

citizens of Matteson, in the same county and State, for the same purpose.

Also, the petition of Martin Kinsley, and 50 others, of Ovid, in the same county and State, for the same

purpose.

Also, the petition of William Chase, and 36 others, citizens of Kinderhook, in the same county and State, for the same purpose.

By Mr. VAN HORN, of New York: Petitions from Niagara and Genesee counties, signed by 245 citizens, asking an increase of duty on wool.

By Mr. WARD: The resolution of the Legislature of the State of New York, asking an appropriation to pay the claims of the militia of New York for clothing, &c., who served in the war of 1812.

By Mr. WELKER: The petition of George C. Underhill, and 106 others, wool-growers of Lorain county, Ohio, asking protection on wool.

Also, the petition of D. A. Fenn, and 123 others, wool-growers of Ashland county, on the same subject. Also, the petition of Daniel Musser, and 99 others, wool-growers of Ashland county, Ohio, on the same subject.

Also, the petition of J. H. Dudley, and 55 others, wool-growers of Henrietta township, Lorain county, for the same purpose.

By Mr. WILSON, of Pennsylvania. The petition of the physicians of Tioga, Tioga county, Pennsylvania, praying to be released from tax on medicines, &c.

By Mr. WOODBRIDGE: The remonstrance of E. W. Stoughton, William M. Evarts, Daniel Lord, Charles O'Conor, James T. Brady, and 56 others, members of the bar, practicing in the Federal courts, against the passage of Senate bill No. 103, to reorganize the Federal judiciary.

IN SENATE.

TUESDAY, April 17, 1866.

Prayer by the Chaplain, Rev. E. H. GRAY. The Journal of yesterday was read and approved.

LIQUOR IN THE CAPITOL.

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. In com pliance with the order of the Senate directing the Chair to appoint a committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the concurrent resolution prohibiting the sale of spirituous liquors in the Capitol building and grounds, the Chair appointed Mr.WILSON, Mr. SHERMAN, and Mr. GUTHRIE.

PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS.

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Chair has received and been requested to present to the Senate a petition numerously signed from the sixth congressional district of Iowa, setting forth that certain persons in the interest of the Des Moines River Navigation Company, a corporation that the petitioners describe as a defunct corporation, are interfering with and making certain improper allegations in regard to the extension of the Dubuque and Sioux City railroad. They assert that the continuance and extension of that road is of great importance to that district and to the State of Iowa, and hope that these allegations will not be credited by Congress. This petition, if there be no objection, will be received and referred to the Committee on Public Lands.

Mr. HOWARD. I move that it be referred to the Committee on the Pacific Railroad. I think it more appropriately belongs to that committee.

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. It will be referred to that committee if there be no objection.

Mr. POMEROY presented the petition of William A. Carter, praying that he may be permitted to preempt certain sections of land in Utah Territory represented to contain deposits of iron ore and bituminous coal, upon the condition that he construct thereon a blast furnace and foundery; which was referred to the Committee on Public Lands.

Mr. HOWE presented the petition of Joseph W. J. Holmes, sr., praying for compensation for property destroyed in Columbia, South Carolina, by the United States forces under General Sherman; which was referred to the Committee on Claims.

Mr. WILLEY. I offer the petition of certain residents of the town of Martinsburg, Berkeley county, West Virginia, members of the German Evangelical church of that town, praying for relief for the destruction of the church belonging to that denomination by fire during the recent rebellion while occupied by

the forces of the United States as quarters for troops. In offering this petition I desire to attract the attention of the Committee on Claims to it. The members of this denomination, the Germans of this country, manifested an unexampled fidelity to the Union during the progress of the war, and were most faithful to it in all sections, and suffered great persecution in the lines of the confederacy. These persons now memorializing Congress are no exception to the general rule. They have not only lost the house in which they worshiped, but they have been great sufferers from the effects of the war individually. I hope the Committee on Claims will give the memorial of these excellent gentlemen and most faithful citizens due consideration, and if it be possible, that the relief they ask for may be granted. I move that it be referred to the Committee on Claims.

It was so referred.

Mr. WADE presented the petition of Lizzie A. Jones and Semantha Jones, representing that they lost two brothers in the United States service during the late war, upon whom they were dependent for support, being totally blind, and praying that they may be allowed a pension; which was referred to the Committee on Pensions.

Mr. SHERMAN presented resolutions of the Legislature of Ohio in favor of such a modification of the laws now in force as shall clearly leave subject to State taxation national currency and all other obligations and securities. of the United States not exempted from such taxation by a subsisting contract with the holders thereof; which were referred to the Committee on Finance.

Mr. BUCKALEW presented a petition of the American Slate Exchange, of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, praying for a reduction of the tax on American slate and for an increase of the duty on importations of foreign slate; which was referred to the Committee on Finance.

He also presented a memorial of the Board of Trade of Philadelphia, praying for an appropriation by Congress to secure a full display of the products of our country at the Exposi tion to be held at Paris, France, in 1867; which was ordered to lie on the table.

Mr. NYE presented the petition of Joseph R. Morris, praying that the Commissioner of Patents may be authorized to issue to him a patent for a new and useful improvement in furnaces; which was referred to the Committee on Patents and the Patent Office.

Mr. BROWN presented the memorial of James A. Paige and others, late chaplains in the service of the Government, praying that the commutation for fuel and quarters drawn by them from June, 1862, to April, 1863, inclusive, may not be required to be refunded by them; which was referred to the Committee on Military Affairs and the Militia.

Mr. BROWN. I have received a letter from the Secretary of the Interior, transmitting a communication from the contractors for build

ing the Center market-house on Pennsylvania avenue and Eighth street, inviting the attention of Congress to the subject, which I lay before the Senate, and move to refer to the Committee on the District of Columbia. It was sent by mistake to the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, of which I am chair

man.

The motion was agreed to.

PERSONAL EXPLANATION.

Mr. CONNESS. I rise for a single moment, sir, to a question of privilege. I find in the Globe of this morning that after I left the Senate Chamber yesterday, pending a personal diffieulty forced upon me here, the Senator from California [Mr. MCDOUGALL] went on with a long statement of a grievance that he professed to have against me dating as far back as 1852, which he said was the cause of his attack, as I understand the statement he made here. would fully prove at least that the Senator had a good memory and held revenge better than he holds some other things.

It

Without dwelling upon this question, sir, I will briefly say that he alludes to a nomination of his, or a candidacy of his, for the House of Representatives in 1852, before the Democratic convention assembled at Benicia, in California, in that year; and he makes a long statement, in regard to which I have no personal knowledge, and most of which, I apprehend, exists only in his own fancies and brain. But he brings to my mind one material fact that I desire to put on record; and for that purpose I rise. I think it is more than probable that I was a member of that convention and would have supported him for Congress but that his chief advocate, the man who put him in nomination, was a notorious traitor, ex-Governor Smith of Virginia, who was then in our State for the express purpose of giving that State to the South as an outlet for the future confederacy. He aimed at political power there and was then laying its foundation, and the man who was put forward in that convention by Smith could not, under any circumstances, secure then any vote of mine, for my purpose in being a member of that convention was to offer all the resistance that I could to the schemes then in embryo and being developed there for the attempt to establish a southern confederacy at a later day, founded upon the corner-stone of slavery. I remember very well that I did reply to Smith in the convention, and thereafter opposed the nomination that he put forward, but that nominee was nominated and elected, and was a member of the House of Representatives in 1854, and, I believe, there voted for the celebrated Kansas-Nebraska act, which was a part of the beginning of the end. That is all that I desire to say on the subject, and I say it only that it may go as a part of this record.

REPORTS OF COMMITTEES.

Mr. SUMNER, from the Committee on Foreign Relations, to whom were referred two memorials of brewers of the United States, praying for a reduction of the duty on barley imported from Canada and the British Provinces in North America, so that it may not exceed the sum of five cents per bushel, asked to be discharged from their further consideration, and that they be referred to the Committee on Finance; which was agreed to.

Mr. HOWE, from the Committee on Claims, to whom was referred the petition of Oliver Holman, late additional paymaster in the United States Army, praying that he may be relieved from all responsibility for money alleged to have been stolen from him while acting as paymaster at Boston, Massachusetts, submitted an adverse report thereon; which was ordered to be printed.

ALEXANDER THOMPSON.

Mr. SUMNER. The Committee on Foreign Relations, to whom was referred the joint resolution (H. R. No. 102) for the relief of Alexander Thompson, late United States consul at Maranham, have had it under consideration, and have directed me to report it back with a recommendation that it pass. I think business would be facilitated if the Senate would act on this joint resolution at once. It will take but a minute.

By unanimous consent, the joint resolution was considered as in Committee of the Whole. It proposes to require the proper accounting officers of the Treasury Department to adjust and pay all proper accounts and claims of Alexander Thompson for salary and services as consul at Maranham, in Brazil, in as full and ample a manner as if he had been a citizen of the United States while discharging the duties of the office.

The bill was reported to the Senate without amendment, ordered to a third reading, read the third time, and passed.

MESSAGE FROM THE HOUSE.

A message from the House of Representatives, by Mr. MCPHERSON, its Clerk, announced that the House of Representatives had passed

the following bills, in which it requested the concurrence of the Senate:

A bill (H. R. No. 493) granting a pension to Mrs. Joanna Winans;

A bill (H. R. No. 494) for the relief of Martha J. Willey; and

A bill (H. R. No. 495) for the relief of Mary A. Patrick.

The message also returned to the Senate, in compliance with its request, the bill (H. R. No. 458) granting a pension to Sarah E. Pickell.

The message further announced that the House of Representatives had passed the following bills without amendment:

A bill (S. No. 201) for the relief of Ann Heth, widow of William Heth, of Harrison county, Indiana;

A bill (S. No. 241) directing the enrollment of Agnes W. Laughlin, the widow of a deceased soldier, as a pensioner;

A bill (S. No. 252) granting a pension to Mrs. Sarah E. Wilson; and

A bill (S. No. 260) granting a pension to Mrs. Emerance Gouler.

ENROLLED BILLS SIGNED.

The message further announced that the Speaker of the House of Representatives had signed the following enrolled bills; and they were thereupon signed by the President pro tempore of the Senate:

A bill (H. R. No. 25) for the relief of Thomas Hurly;

A bill (H. R. No. 184) to authorize the sale of marine hospitals and of revenue-cutters;

A bill (S. No. 241) directing the enrollment of Agnes W. Laughlin, the widow of a deceased soldier, as a pensioner;

A bill (S. No. 201) for the relief of Ann Heth, widow of William Heth, of Harrison county, Indiana;

A bill (S. No. 252) granting a pension to Mrs. Sarah E. Wilson; and

A bill (S. No. 260) granting a pension to Mrs. Emerance Gouler.

SARAH E. PICKELL.

Mr. JOHNSON moved to reconsider the vote by which the bill (H. R. No. 458) granting a pension to Sarah E. Pickell was indefi nitely postponed on the 13th instant; and the motion was entered.

PATENT OFFICE REPORT.

Mr. ANTHONY. I am instructed by the Committee on Printing, to whom was referred a resolution to print ten thousand copies of the annual Report of the Commissioner of the Patent Office, to report it back with an amendment; and I ask for its present consideration.

There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the resolution, as follows: Resolved, That there be printed for the use of the Senate ten thousand copies of the annual Report of the Commissioner of the Patent Office for the year 1865.

The amendment of the committce was in line two, to strike out "ten" and insert "four;" so as to read, "four thousand copies."

Mr. ANTHONY. I desire to say a word in regard to this amendment. It has been customary, ever since I have been connected with the public printing, to print ten thousand copies of the annual Report of the Commissioner of Patents. It is undoubtedly a book of very great value, and if it is proper for the Govern ment to print any documents of this kind for popular distribution, which is a question that may well be considered, this is one of the most valuable. It is the history of the inventive genius of the country for the year that has gone by. It not only disseminates among the people a knowledge of what has been invented, but it stimulates the public ingenuity in all directions. Under ordinary circumstances of the Treasury, the committee would not recommend any reduction of the number to be printed, but probably would recommend an increased number, corresponding with the increase of population and mechanical development; but in the present condition of the Treasury it is deemed advisable that the great

est economy should be used, and it is the determination of the committee to reduce this branch of public expenditure to the lowest point that is consistent with the public interest. If this resolution and the amendment shall be adopted, I am instructed by the same committee to offer another resolution reducing the number of these documents for 1863 and 1864 in like proportion. Those have not been printed owing to the great pressure on the public Printing Office. If the resolution shall pass as amended, and the other resolution which I shall offer shall pass, it will effect a reduction of sixty per cent., or of eighteen thousand in the whole number of copies.

Mr. President, in this connection I wish to say a few words for the correction of some mistakes into which the country and the Senate have fallen with regard to the expenditures for the public printing. The documents which are distributed are mainly the reports of the executive Departments that contain the history of the Government for the year. They are the reports which the trustees of the people render of their stewardship. They contain a large amount of statistical and historical information of very great value, such as all Goveruments have been accustomed to put into a permanent form. They must be printed. These great reports as they come to us in manuscript are of no use; they are not accessible; members of the two Houses of Congress must have them in type or they might as well not be presented to them. When they are once put in type it is comparatively little additional cost to strike off copies for the State archives and for public libraries; and the importance of that is very evident, that these documents may be accessible for reference, and that they may be in various places for preservation and security against fire. Then there is another temptation, when this is done, which is liable to considerable abuse, to print large numbers of copies for popular distribution; and the impression seems to prevail throughout the country that this practice is now carried to a greater extent than it has been heretofore; and it is to correct this error that I wish to call the attention of the Senate to the cost of public printing for

the last year.

I saw it stated the other day, in a paper of very large circulation, and of very high character, that "Pub. Doc." cost, last year, $2,000,000. The idea intended to be conveyed, and doubtless entertained by the editor, was that we distribute annually $2,000,000 worth of books among the people; and my friend from Indiana [Mr. HENDRICKS] the other day stated that the public printing had in some way risen from $200,000 to $2,000,000, and he seemed to call upon us for some explanation. This, coming from a Senator generally so accurate as my friend from Indiana is on all matters unless when he is talking on politics, is calculated to produce some impression on the Senate.

The cost of the public printing is undoubtedly a great deal larger than it was, and the reasons for it are too palpable to require more than enumeration. In the first place the country has increased. The same increase that the growth and progress of the country require in all other departments is naturally to be expected to be required in the department of printing, and rather more perhaps with a progressing and enterprising people like ours, because printing may be regarded almost as a type of civilization, and the more progressive a people are the more printing they will require.

Then the war has enormously increased the amount of public printing. The printing that would answer for an army of ten or twenty thousand men that were lying around in barracks would be manifestly but a very small percentage of that required for a million men engaged in active operations all over the country, and very often in a large degree officered by inexperienced men who would naturally

waste more blanks than an instructed officer would require for his use.

A still greater cause of the increase in the

cost of printing is the increase of the cost of paper, of labor, and of all the materials entering into printing. Paper has been two and a half prices; I suppose paper is now about double what it was before the war, and it has been three times more than it was before the war. The same is also true with all the materials for binding, although the Government has not suffered so much as might have been apprehended from this cause because the contracts have been made at very low rates by the Superintendent, and, as all his contracts have been, made with men reliable and men of high reputation, and they have fulfilled their contracts in the most honorable manner at considerable loss to themselves.

The Senator from Indiana spoke of a time when the printing was $200,000 a year. I do not know when that was. The average cost of the printing of the Thirty-Third, ThirtyFourth, and Thirty-Fifth Congresses, the three last Congresses under the contract system, was $374,000 a year. That was for the Senate and House of Representatives alone the printing, paper, and binding. The whole printing now for the Senate and House of Representatives and for all the Executive Departments is not $2,000,000; in round numbers it is $1,750,000 -a little less than that. Now, sir, let us see how much of that is the printing of Congress. The first item is for the War Department, $484,000. That is something more than a quarter of the whole.

Mr. CONNESS. Of course that belongs to this period of the country.

Mr. ANTHONY. Certainly, it will not be continued; but for the present year it will cost a great deal on account of the mustering out of so many men. It is not an annual expenditure but it goes in to make up the $1,750,000 which is called two millions.

The next great item is the Treasury Department; that is $261,000. The printing of the Treasury Department, of course, must be immensely greater for a revenue of four or five hundred millions, drawn from every department of industry and almost every department of life, going in and counting a man's silver spoons and requiring returns of them, than it was for an income of $80,000,000 drawn from customs. This item of $261,000, instead of

diminishing will doubtless increase, because the internal revenue increases, and as the southern States are becoming objects of taxation a large amount of printing will be required for the revenue officers there, for, I believe, whatever differences of opinion may exist about admitting the southern States to a share in the representation, the blackest Republican does not mean to deny them the blessings of taxation. The printing for this Department, therefore, instead of diminishing will increase.

Another item is the Post Office Department, which is more than $100,000. The Department of Agriculture is $45,000; the Judiciary is $28,000; the Interior Department is the modest sum of $25,000. All of these sums I

Six

have no reason to doubt are necessary and the amount is economically expended. This reduces the cost for Congress alone, for the two Houses, for the printing, paper, and binding, to $690,000. The cost for the same items for the Thirty-Third, Thirty-Fourth, and ThirtyFifth Congresses was $374,000 a year. hundred and ninety thousand dollars to-day. will not do as much printing as $374,000 would then, nothing like it, and the reason why we can do for $690,000 now what required only $374,000 then is because it is done now much more economically. There was a large profit to the contractors in the smaller item, and there is none in the larger item.

Take the printing alone, leaving out the paper and the binding, of which the prices have risen enormously-the amount now paid for the Senate is $50,000, against $67,000 six years ago, and the amount for the House of

Representatives is $75,000, against $125,000 six years ago, the average of the six years preceding the establishment of the Government Printing Office. The whole printing now of both

Houses of Congress, leaving out the paper and the binding, the printing alone is $125,311 46, against $192,782 49 under the old system, when everything was a great deal cheaper than it is now, showing a saving of over twenty-five per cent.

No such documents are printed now as the Pacific Railroad Reports, the Japan Expedition, and the Mexican Boundary Survey. The Mexican Boundary Survey Report cost $80,000, and the Pacific railroad publication cost three quarters of a million. I do not know what the Japan expedition volumes cost, but the money that was expended on these three publications would have placed a good library in every congressional district in the United States.

The Treasury blanks, which are printed at the public Printing Office, I think might be printed more economically elsewhere, for printing is very high here, but there is a particular reason for having them all printed here. It is very desirable that the blanks should be identical; it is very desirable for the detection of errors and frauds that the returns which are made to the Treasury Department should be precisely the same, such as the clerks are familiar with looking over, all over the country, and many of them are printed in duplicate, one set being bound in the Department and the other set sent out, and when the returns come in it requires less clerical labor for the examination, and the examination can be conducted with a great deal more accuracy, and gives much better opportunities for authenticating the returns.

I have made these remarks, Mr. President, because I did not wish to see Congress laboring under the imputation of great extravagance where it has really induced important economy. I need not say after these remarks that I consider the establishment of a Government Printing Office as a very economical arrangement for the Government. I tremble to think what would be the bills brought in upon us if all this printing was done now by contract, if we were at the mercy of contractors for the printing of the various blanks and forms that have been made necessary during the war, the prices of which could not be stipulated for in advance; and I should not do justice to my own feelings and to a very faithful officer if I did not say that I think the Superintendent of Public Printing is one of the most economical, careful, and faithful officers that I ever came in contact with. His whole object is to reduce the expenditures of his department as much as possible, and to reduce the amount of printing ordered by Congress, constantly persuading us to do it, and also to print the executive work at the lowest price that is compatible with its accuracy and with the efficiency of the public service. The printing is done now a great deal better than it ever was before and a great deal cheaper.

The amendment was agreed to.

The resolution, as amended, was adopted. Mr. ANTHONY. I am instructed by the Committee on Printing to offer the following resolution, and to ask for its present consid eration:

Resolved, That the number of copies heretofore ordered of the Reports of the Patent Office for the years 1863 and 1864 be reduced from ten thousand of each to four thousand of each.

Mr. CLARK. I think that had better lie

over.

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Objection being made, the resolution lies over.

Mr. ANTHONY. I would make one suggestion to the Senator from New Hampshire. The whole number will have to be printed pretty soon, if at all. The resolution, the Senator is aware, is to reduce the number from ten thousand to four thousand, and the work is now upon the press, and unless the reduction is made now the Superintendent will be obliged to go on; therefore I shall call it up to-morrow.

Mr. CLARK. I do not know that I am opposed to it, but I think I would like to talk with the Senator a little about it.

Mr. ANTHONY. Very well. I have no objection to let it go over.

BILLS INTRODUCED.

Mr. NYE asked, and by unanimous consent obtained, leave to introduce a joint resolution (S. R. No. 66) for the relief of Joseph R. Morris; which was read twice by its title, and referred to the Committee on Patents and the Patent Office.

Mr. WILSON asked, and by unanimous consent obtained, leave to introduce a bill (S. No. 268) to prevent and punish the manufacture and use of false, forged, or counterfeited brands, stamps, and stencils; which was read twice by its title, and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs and the Militia.

He also asked, and by unanimous consent obtained, leave to introduce a joint resolution (S. R. No. 67) to provide for the erection of fire-proof buildings at the Schuylkill arsenal, near Philadelphia; which was read twice by its title, and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs and the Militia.

Mr. SPRAGUE asked, and by unanimous consent obtained, leave to introduce a joint resolution (S. R. No. 68) providing for a change of name of certain forts and Government works; which was read twice by its title, and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs and the Militia.

Mr. GRIMES asked, and by unanimous consent obtained, leave to introduce a bill (S. No. 269) to define the number and regulate the appointment of officers in the Navy; which was read twice by its title.

Mr. GRIMES. I desire to say, in connection with the fact that I introduce that bill, that it has been drawn at the Navy Department, and is accompanied by a letter from the Secretary of the Navy, which I desire to have printed and laid on the tables of Senators in connection with the bill. I desire further to say that I do not feel myself committed to the provisions of the bill which I have submitted, but I have presented it to the Senate for its consideration in compliance with the request of the Secretary of the Navy. I move that the bill be referred to the Committee on Naval Affairs, and that the letter of the Secretary of the Navy be printed.

The motion was agreed to.

Mr. SHERMAN asked, and by unanimous consent obtained, leave to introduce a bill (S. No. 270) securing to non-resident litigants the benefit of the jurisdiction of the United States courts, in the States lately in rebellion, in certain cases; which was read twice by its title, and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Mr. DOOLITTLE asked, and by unanimous consent obtained, leave to introduce a joint resolution (S. R. No. 69) making an appropriation to enable the President to negotiate treaties with certain Indian tribes; which was read twice by its title, and ordered to lie on the table.

Mr. DOOLITTLE. I will say to the Senate that I desire to take up this resolution to-morrow morning. It is a very important matter, and is based on facts that have just come to my knowledge from the Interior Department.

LAKE PORTAGE SHIP-CANAL.

Mr. POMEROY. I move to take up for consideration Senate bill No. 193, which was originally reported from the Committee on Commerce, considered at length in the Senate, and then referred to the Committee on Public Lands, who have reported it back in a new draft. The amendment only need be read, because it is a substitute for the original bill.

The motion was agreed to; and the Senate, as in Committee of the Whole, resumed the consideration of the bill (S. No. 193) to amend an act entitled "An act granting land to the State of Michigan to aid in building a harbor and ship-canal at Portage Lake, Keweenaw Point, Lake Superior," approved March 3,

1865.

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. It is moved that the substitute reported by the Committee on Public Lands be read instead

of the original bill, and that order will be taken unless some Senator asks for the reading of the original bill.

The Secretary read the amendment of the Committee on Public Lands, which was to strike out all of the bill after the enacting clause, and to insert the following in lieu thereof:

That there be, and hereby is, granted to the State of Michigan, to aid in the building of a harbor and shipcanal at Portage Lake, Keweenaw Point, Lake Superior, in addition to a former grant for that purpose, approved March 3, 1865, two hundred thousand acres of land in the upper peninsula of the State of Michigan, and from land to which the right of homestead or preemption has not attached: Provided, That one hundred and fifty thousand acres of said lands shall be selected from alternate odd-numbered sections, and fifty thousand acres from even-numbered sections of the lands of the United States. Said grant of lands shall inure to the use and benefit of the Portage Lake and Lake Superior Ship-Canal Company, in accordance with an act of the Legislature of the State of Michigan, conferring the land granted to the said State, by the act hereby amended, on said

company: And provided further. That the time allowed for the completion of said work and the right of reversion to the United States under the said act of Congress, approved March 3, 1865, be extended three additional years.

Mr. POMEROY. I notice that in the amend

ment as printed there is an omission of a proviso in regard to the mineral lands. It should have been in the amendment, but through some mistake it has been left out. I therefore move to amend the amendment by adding as an additional proviso the following:

Provided further, That no mineral lands shall be included within this grant.

Mr. CONNESS. I suggest to the Senator that he should define "the mineral lands" in inserting that clause; otherwise it would include all minerals.

Mr. POMEROY. In States like Michigan, where there never have been any precious metals, we have always confined ourselves to the use of the words "mineral lands;" but in those States where the precious metals are found, we designate the mineral lands as containing precious metals.

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The amendment of the committee will be modified as suggested by the Senator from Kansas, and the question is on the amendment as modified.

The amendment, as modified, was agreed to. The bill was reported to the Senate as amended; the amendment was concurred in.

Mr. POMEROY. There is a clerical error in the eighteenth line of the amendment. The word "to" should be substituted for the word "on;" so as to read, "to said company."

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. That correction will be made, being merely a clerical mistake.

The bill was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, was read the third time, and passed. The title of the bill was amended so as to read:

A bill granting lands to the State of Michigan, to aid in the construction of a harbor and ship-canal at Portage Lake, Keweenaw Point, Lake Superior, in said State.

Mr. POMEROY subsequently said: I ask leave to enter a motion to reconsider the bill (S. No. 193) to amend an act entitled "An act granting lands to. the State of Michigan, to aid in building a harbor and ship-canal at Portage Lake, Keweenaw Point, Lake Superior," approved March 3, 1865, which passed this morning during the morning hour. There is a mistake in the bill. I merely want to enter a motion to reconsider.

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. That motion will be entered.

HOUSE BILLS REFERRED.

The following bills from the House of Rep resentatives were severally read twice by their titles, and referred to the Committee on Pensions :

A bill (H. R. No. 493) granting a pension to Mrs. Joanna Winans;

A bill (H. R. No. 494) for the relief of Martha J. Willey; and

A bill (H. R. No. 495) for the relief of Mary A. Patrick.

ADMISSION OF COLORADO.

Mr. WILSON. I move to take up the mo. tion entered by me some time since to reconsider the vote by which the bill to admit Colorado into the Union was defeated.

The motion was agreed to.

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The question now is, Will the Senate reconsider its vote rejecting the bill (S. No. 74) for the admission of the State of Colorado into the Union?

Mr. GRIMES and Mr. JOHNSON called for the yeas and nays, and they were ordered. The Secretary proceeded to call the roll, and Mr. ANTHONY answered to his name.

Mr. BROWN. If it is proposed that a reconsideration of this vote shall take place, as a matter of course or of courtesy I do not wish to contest such a course although doubting its propriety, but I do not wish any acquiescence on my part to be construed into an approval of the joint resolution in favor of the admission of Colorado with its present constitution. I was sick and absent in Philadelphia when the vote was taken on this proposition before, or I should have voted against it. As it is, if enabled to be present whenever the vote may again be taken, if it is to be reconsidered, I will unquestionably oppose it. The chief objection which I wish to state-not that there are no others-is that the constitution under which it claims admission contains a clause denying the right of suffrage to persons on account of color and race. I will never indorse by any vote of mine in this Senate any such odious discrimination, and as I propose to exercise my constitutional right in that behalf in regard to other States of the Union which have lately been in rebellion, so I am willing that the political reform, the assertion of this fundamental principle, should begin in the house of my friends, and apply first to the admission of Colorado.

Mr. SUMNER. I hope the Senate will not reconsider that vote.

Mr. TRUMBULL. answer to the roll-call.

There has been an

Mr. SUMNER. I beg the Senator's pardon; I think no answer was given.

Mr. BROWN. I voted.

Mr. ANTHONY. I voted twice; the Senator from Missouri once.

Mr. SUMNER. I was called out of the Senate for one minute, and during my absence this motion has been made; I do not know by whom.

Mr. WILSON. I made the motion. I did not know that my colleague was absent.

Mr. ANTHONY. If the Senator from Massachusetts wishes to address the Senate on the subject, I hope he will be allowed to do so by unanimous consent.

Mr. RAMSEY. He can do it just as well on the bill when it comes before us.

Mr. GRIMES. He has a right to do it on the motion to reconsider. The Secretary called the name of the Senator from Rhode Island and he answered before the Senator from Missouri rose to his feet to explain the vote he was about to give. The Senator from Missouri was permitted to give that explanation, and now I suppose the same courtesy might with equal propriety be extended to the Senator from Massachusetts.

Mr. TRUMBULL. The Senator from Missouri says his name was called and he answered. Mr. GRIMES. So had the Senator from Rhode Island been called, and he answered before the Senator from Missouri's name was called.

Mr. TRUMBULL. As I understand it, the Senator from Missouri was called, and when his name was called he rose and explained his

vote.

Mr. GRIMES. He had no right to do that. Mr. TRUMBULL. Perhaps not if anybody had objected.

Mr. GRIMES. He was permitted to do it, and now the Senator from Massachusetts ought to have the same privilege.

Mr. TRUMBULL. If the Senator from

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